Trying out different fire starting methods and I decided to break out my very first container of Lifeboat matches. The container I opened were the Pro Force brand of Lifeboat matches, not the NATO matches.

It was windy that day, but since they were windproof and waterproof, I was undaunted by my experiment...until I lit one.

It flared at first, as I expected, but it burned very quickly and it seemed to die out and then flame again. I would be surprised if each match lasted more than 15 seconds.

IIRC, people talked about 2-3 minutes of burn time with the NATO matches. Maybe I got a bad batch and I just need to try the NATO ones.

Come to think of it, a while back when I was playing with Tinder Quik, I tried a couple of pieces (at different times) and they seemed to burn as quickly as an untreated cotton ball.

I guess I'm glad I've started using these things in my kit so I know what to expect, or what not to expect!

Ideas? Opinions?

15 seconds is the mean average burntime on a lifeboat. Remember a standard wooden or paper match is essentially consuming the stick to transfer ingnition to tinder long after the very shortlived match head is consumed. A lifeboat conversely puts it's fuel in an extended ignition less subject to being extinguished. Always remember that whatever your firemaking strategy to THINK about every step like a grand chess master. This is serious stuff in the survival scenario, in many ways one of our oldest sacred ceremonials.

15-20 sec is about right for a lifeboat match. The 2-3 minute claim is nonsense. That's ample time to start a prepared fire and is no different to the burn time of a conventional match, and firelighting is not actually their original intended use. I have a post on here somewhere explaining that. Do a search. As for the Tinder-Quicks, yes they burn as fast as cotton wool, but they have the great advantage of having a small pack size and of being a lot less vunerable to damp and wet. If you need a longer burn time, Wet-Fire cubes are a better choice. I carry both when I go off pavement.

2-3 minutes is the average burn-time of the tinder-quick.

I got that from the contentslist of the PSP. It says:

''4 Spark-Lite™ Tinder-Quik™ - current U.S. military issue, waterproof, wax impregnated cotton tinder in zip-top plastic bag, each burns 2-3 minutes''

The Tinder-Quick packages give a burn time of 1-2 mins. Although that may be peak burn, not total burn time. IMHO that's academic. If you fire does not go inside the first 30sec's to 1 min, it's not going to go, and they are only intended to ignite your first stage tinder anyway.